CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY FOR WHOM? IRS OVERREACHES IN DENYING CARES ACT ECONOMIC IMPACT PAYMENTS TO MIGRANT WORKERS AND INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS

By: Justin Schwegel†

INTRODUCTION

 Individuals who received advance refunds under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act met the eligibility criteria in their 2019 tax filings (or 2018 filings if they had not yet filed 2019 taxes).[1] Advance refunds are treated as a refund of an overpayment of 2018 or 2019 taxes.[2] Subsequent changes in tax filing status in 2020 do not retroactively make one ineligible for an advance refund.[3] On May 6, the IRS issued guidance on its Economic Impact Payment Information Center website instructing incarcerated individuals and certain resident aliens[4]that they should return the economic impact payments (also called advance refunds or stimulus payments) they received from the IRS.[5] This guidance is not legally binding for two distinct reasons. First, it was issued without conforming to the procedural requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. Second, the guidance exceeded the IRS’s rulemaking authority because it contradicts unambiguous statutory language.

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Footnote Forum Podcast, a CUNY Law Review Production

Recommended Citation: Footnote Forum Podcast, ​Interview with Dilley Delegation Staff, 23 CUNY L. Rev. F. 40 (2020)

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INTERVIEW WITH DILLEY DELEGATION STAFF

Part I

Reena Novotnak: You’re listening to Footnote Forum, a production of the law review at City University of New York School of Law. I’m your editor and host, Reena Novotnak, and I’m joined by our guests, two CUNY Law students.

Joanna Lopez: My name is Jo Lopez, I’m a 3L in the full-time program.

Jacklyn Mann: Hi everyone, I’m Jackie Mann, I’m also a 3L here.

Reena Novotnak: This year, on the podcast, we focused on the Freedom of Information Act and Freedom of Information Law, or FOIA and FOIL. Jo and Jackie joined us to talk about their experience with the Dilley Delegation, and the challenges and lack of transparency they faced when preparing their clients for asylum hearings. Right now, you’re listening to part one of two of this interview. In this episode, you’ll also hear the voices of two law review staffers: Maya Kouassi and Cesar Ruiz. But it’s Jo here who’ll start us off.

Joanna Lopez: The Dilley delegation was a year-long effort initiated by three students to bring together other CUNY Law students and law professors to be able to provide much-needed on-the-ground work in Dilley, Texas.[1] In a nutshell, we spent a week at the South Texas Family Residential Center and assisted mothers and their children as they prepared for their credible fear interviews. So, much of the work that was done that week was spending 12 to 14-hour days at the detention center and working with women, and listening to their stories, and finding a way to structure their experiences in a way that was palatable to an asylum officer so that they would receive a positive interview and move forward in the asylum process, and also be released from detention, which is a really crucial part of the work that we were doing.

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CUNY SCHOOL OF LAW DILLEY DELEGATION
FOIA REQUEST

Recommended Citation: CUNY Dilley Delegation, FOIA Request, 23 CUNY L. Rev. F. 70 (2020)
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TO: U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services
National Records Center, FOIA/PA Office
P. O. Box 648010
Lee’s Summit, MO 64064-8010
FOIA Officer/Public Liaison: Jill Eggleston
Phone: 1-800-375-5283 (USCIS Contact Center)
Fax: 816-350-5785
E-mail: uscis.foia@uscis.dhs.gov

RE: FOIA REQUEST

Dear Ms. Eggleston,

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. We ask to be provided with all guidance and policy on providing notice for credible fear interviews for defensive asylum applicants in federal detention.

I.     Introduction

Fear is at the heart of an application for asylum.[1] Some asylum seekers fear abusive spouses, others fear ruthless gangs or interfaith violence.[2] Whatever the reason, that fear creates a moral imperative for the United States to give shelter, and it creates a defense enshrined in federal law.[3] Credible fear interviews (“CFI”) represent the first threshold towards asylum.[4]

Advocates on the ground report that immigrants in detention receive little to no notice for these interviews, which is a potential violation of the Fifth Amendment.[5] Without proper notice, asylum applicants cannot prepare to discuss what are often the most traumatizing moments of their lives. Therefore, we would like to know what federal policies exist for providing notice regarding CFIs, and what, if any, guidance exists for implementing that notice.

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